Clothes hanger



Feb. 3, 1959 w. GOODMAN CLOTHES HANGER Filed Aug. 10, 1956 n a fi W Jr. 0 W

CLOTHES HANGER Walter Goodman, Newport News, Va., assignor to Leonard A. Kocen, Richmond, Va.

Application August 10, 1956, Serial No. 603,318

3 Claims. c1. 223-94 This invention relates to a clothes hanger of the foldable type which is folded by hand but automatically extended by means of a spring.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a hanger which can be easily and quickly inserted and removed through an opening in a garment.

7 Another object of this invention is to provide a hanger which can be quickly and cheaply made without the use of expensive machinery.

Still another object of this invention is .to provide a garment hanger so simple in its operation that where a considerable number are used, as in a garment factory or clothing store, a great saving in time will result.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter throughout the specification.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my hanger in its extended position. I

Figure 2 is a side elevation of my hanger in its folded position, parts being shown in section.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of a portion of my hanger showing the relationship of the pivoted arms to the spring, the hook, and the pivot.

Figure 4 is a sectional view, taken on the line 44 of Figure 3, showing the shape of one of the arms in cross section and the relationship of one end of the spring to the arm; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view, taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3, showing the connection between the arms in greater detail.

Referring now to the several figures of the drawing, 2 and 4 represent the right and left arms, respectively, of

-the hanger as viewed in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing. As clearly shown in the drawing the arms 2 and 4 are of channel shape in cross section and are pivoted together adjacent one end by a pivot which, as shown in the drawing, may take the form of a hollow rivet 6 having a head 8 on one end and a washer 10 on its other end, the end of the rivet adjacent the washer being upset against the outer face of the washer at 12 to prevent ready removal of the washer from the rivet.

A hook 14 serves to suspend the hanger and comprises an upper curved portion 16, a stem portion 18, and an eye 20 through which the rivet 6 passes as clearly shown in Figures Band 5. The stem portion 18 is mounted be- 1 tween the adjacent ends of the arms 2 and 4 as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3 and serves as a stop to limit upward movement of the arms as they are thrust upward by the action of the spring 22 which, as clearly shown in Figure 5, has a plurality of coils around the rivet 6 and terminates in oppositely extending end portions 24 and 26, respectively. Each of these end portions is curved downwardly adjacent its extremity to form a curved surface at 28 to form a smooth bearing for engagement with the upper inner surface of the channel-shaped arm. As clearly shown in Figure 5 of the drawing, both the eye 20 and the coils of the spring loosely surround the pivot so that they are free to move thereon.

States Patent 0 While the pivot has been described and shown as being a hollow rivet, it will be understood that it may be solid, if desired. Also, it will be understood that the arms and the spring could take other forms. For example, the arms could be flat with their adjacent ends recessed to'r'eceive the spring.

Thematerial of the arms may be of any suitable material such as, plastic, wood, paper, or metal.

The length of the hook and the arms may be of any suitable length depending on the size of the garment,

and the flexibility and strength of the spring will depend.

on the weight of the garment to be supported.

In the normal position of the hangerjtlie arins2 and 4 will be held in the position shown in Figures 1 and 3 by the spring which will force the arms upwardly from the folded position of Figure 2 until they engage the stem portion 18 of the book which acts as a stop to limit their upward movement. As described above, the spring is provided with curved end portions which slidingly engage the arms as clearly shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4.

When it is desired to hang a garment, such as a dress, the hanger is folded to the position of Figure 2 and then inserted through the neck opening of the dress or other garment. As soon as the arms are through the opening, they are released and the spring automatically extends them to the position of Figures 1 and 3 and the garment is ready to hang. If it is desired to remove the hanger from the garment, it is only necessary to fold the hanger and the garment will slide oif.

Due to the cross-sectional shape of the arms and the preferred material, flexible cardboard or thin plastic, the arms of the hanger have enough lateral spring action to prevent garments placed on a rack from becoming too closely jammed together thereby preventing wrinkles.

The extending end portions 24 and 26 of the spring 22 may be longer than shown in the drawings, in order to increase the tension of the spring, if desired.

While my hanger is designed primarily for use in garment factories or stores due to the great saving of time in inserting hangers into garments and removing them therefrom, it is also extremely useful in private homes due to its simplicity and low cost.

The above description and drawing disclose one embodiment of the invention, and specific language has been employed in describing the figures. It will, nevertheless, be understood that no limitations of the scope of the invention are thereby contemplated, and that various alterations and modifications may be made as would occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

I claim:

1. A foldable clothes hanger comprising a pair of arms each having a channel-shaped portion at one end, said channel-shaped portions each having a top wall and a pair of side walls, a pivot extending through said portions and spanning the channels therein, a hook loosely mounted on said pivot and extending outwardly between the top walls of said portions, said hook comprising an intermediate stem portion which serves as a stop to limit movement of said arms in a direction toward the outer end of said hook, and a coiled spring mounted on said pivot, the ends of said spring normally extending in substantially opposite directions from said pivot and each bearing against the top wall of the adjacent arm, said Patented Feb. 3, i959 channel-shaped portions each having aspair of'side wallsand a connecting web portion, ."a pivot extendingthrough said portions and spanning the'fic'hannel'sitherein, a hook loosely mounted on said 'pivota'nd extending outwardly between the web of said portions, said hook comprising an intermediate stem portion which serves as a stop to limit movement of said arms adirectionftoward the outer end of said :hook, and acoiled spring mounted on said pivot, the ends of saidspring normally extending in substantially opposite directions from said pivot and each end bearing against the said web of the adjacent arm, said spring acting to move said arms outwardly into engagement with the stem portion of said hook and hold them in such position until the hanger is folded, one of said channel-shaped portions overlapping the other channel-shaped portion both when said hanger is in its folded and unfolded position, said hook stem being positioned between the adjacent ends of the webs of said channelshaped portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

